This veal ragout soup is so thick you can stand a spoon up in it. It originates from the Nyírség, which is the northeastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain. It’s made with veal and a lot of vegetables, thickened with blonde roux and liaison (mixture of egg yolks and heavy cream). Nutmeg potato dumplings and lemon juice crown this dish by making it piquant and so superb this serious, hearty, soul-warming soup can help you keep on until spring.
photo: zserbo.com
Ingredients:
- 500 g (~1 lb) veal leg cutlet
- 1 onion
- 4 tbsp oil
- 2 carrots
- 2 parsley roots
- 50 g (~1 1/2 oz) celeriac
- 50 g (~1 1/2 oz) kohlrabi
- 1 garlic clove
- 1-1,5 tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 100 g (~3 1/2 oz) green peas
- 150 g (~5 oz) cauliflowers
- 100 g (~3 1/2 oz) mushrooms
- 1 tbsp flour
- 200 ml (~3/4 cup) cream
- 2 egg yolks
- juice of a half lemon
For the dumplings:
- 150 g (~5 oz) potatoes
- 2 heaping tbsp flour
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- pinch of ground white pepper
- pinch of grated nutmeg
Boil the potatoes with their skin on in a pot of salted water. When potates are tender, drain, peel and mash them. Set aside to let it cool.
Chop the onion finely. Cut the veal into small cubes. Peel carrots, parsley roots, kohlrabi and celeriac and dice them. Peel and crush the garlic.
Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in a pot, add onion and sauté until translucent. Add the veal and root vegetables and fry until the veal cubes turn white on all sides (about 2-3 minutes). Pour 1,5 liters of water on, add crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Cover the pot and over low heat cook for about 45-50 minutes until veal is almost completely tender.
In the meantime prepare the dumplings. Add flour and egg yolk to the mashed potato, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Combine the ingredients into a smooth dough. If the dough is sticky, add more flour. Form small balls with wet hands. Set aside.
In a pan make the blonde roux. Heat up the remaining oil, stir in one tablespoon of all-purpose flour and cook only for 1-2 minutes until the raw flour taste is gone but the roux is still a pale yellow. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
When the veal is almost done, add green peas, mushrooms and cauliflowers to the soup and bring it to a boil again (feel free to add more water if needed). After a few minutes put in the dumplings and cook for about 5-7 minutes while stirring carefully from time to time.
Ladle hot soup over the cold roux and mix until smooth. Pour the thickening in the soup, boil for 2-3 minutes, then turn off the heat. Mix the cream with the egg yolks and slowly pour in the soup while stirring continously. Finally savour with lemon juice.
Serve hot, sprinkled with finely chopped parsley (optional).
